


Do You Like Me?

by SmileAndASong



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel
Genre: AA Stony is the purest and gayest of them all, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Tony, M/M, Misunderstandings, Spoiled Tony Stark, Steve Rogers is a good boyfriend, Tony Being Tony, Tony is very dramatic but very sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-18 19:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14859195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileAndASong/pseuds/SmileAndASong
Summary: “...Steve, do you like me?”“Tony, I’ve been dating you for three months and you’ve been my best friend for years, of course I like you.”“Yeah...but do you like me?”[AKA, Tony's dramatic nature convinces him that Steve hates him and wants to break up with him.]





	Do You Like Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently my mission is to just write as much Avengers Assemble fluff as possible. I can't help it, the fluff just writes itself in the show as it is! So this fic was actually inspired by [this Sarah's Scribbles comic!](https://i.imgur.com/byeRDO9.jpg) When I saw it, I couldn't help but think of AA Tony worrying that Steve doesn't love him, when AA Steve literally adores him arguably more than any other Steve in the multiverse. The positivity of the AA Steve and Tony relationship, as well as the dramatics of Tony, just seemed to be the perfect fit for this idea!
> 
> Special thanks to my three fabulous beta - wynnesome, kittkat, and scarletsrogues! These three provided awesome feedback as well as some great encouragement when I got as insecure and dramatic as Tony during the writing process. I appreciate you all, and thank you again!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this fun bit of AA fluff, and odds are there will be much more fic like this from me in the future!

“Sir, I must recommend that you wake up immediately if you have any desire to have breakfast before the Hulk and Thor devour every last bit of food in the kitchen.”

Tony grumbled at the sound of JARVIS’ robotic wake-up call. Not that JARVIS was necessarily a bad alarm, but for the past three months now he’d had a new alarm clock: a tall, blond, and handsome one. 

At the thought of Steve, Tony begrudgingly opened his eyes at the prospect of him still being in bed. He looked over his shoulder, but disappointingly, instead of finding his boyfriend, he saw only the vacant expanse of sheets. Just past that, to the embarrassingly outdated alarm clock that Steve insisted upon using, he noted the time. 10:15AM. Steve Rogers would never stay in bed past seven, which explained his absence. But he also usually didn’t let Tony sleep in this late, with the exception of mornings after particularly challenging missions, or occasionally if he caught Tony in the lab at some ungodly hour. Or, Tony’s favorite reason for sleeping in, if they had a particularly eventful night in bed. Neither of the former two scenarios were applicable, and unfortunately the latter wasn’t either. Yet here he was was, still asleep and alone in the bed. 

“Where is Steve?” Tony asked his AI, tossing the duvet to the side. His mind naturally tended to exaggerate so of course he envisioned the worst possible scenarios regarding where Steve could be: abducted by the Cabal during his morning jog, dragged into some dystopian future by Kang, forced onto a date with Justin Hammer (which was definitely the one that Tony found the most horrifying).

“Captain Rogers and Sam Wilson left the tower at approximately 7:15AM for physical endurance training. They have yet to return,” JARVIS advised Tony. He sighed in relief. No abduction by the Cabal and no gross Justin Hammer lips on his boyfriend.

“Alright then. Thanks for the info and wake-up call, JARVIS. Hopefully I can get down to the kitchen before those two find my waffles in the back of the freezer.” Tony climbed out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom for a quick shower. A very quick one because now that he thought of the waffles, he really did want them. They wouldn’t be nearly as good as the pancakes that Steve had made him yesterday, but he supposed they would have to do. 

He knew he was being dramatic, but he couldn’t help but feel the day was already off to a pretty mediocre start. He had started almost every day for the past three months with wake-up kisses and smiles from Steve. Without them, it hardly seemed worth getting out of bed, and the day was likely destined to be completely awful. Tony Stark, ever the drama queen.

XXXXX

After his shower, he made his way down to the kitchen where he saw Hulk, Thor, Natasha, and Clint seated at the table, all still eating breakfast. Surprisingly, nobody was eating waffles, which suggested that they hadn’t found them. Or, less likely, were respecting his personal belongings for a change. But before he could even think about making waffles, he absolutely /needed/ his coffee.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

“Where is my coffee!?” Tony all but yelled, when he saw that the coffee pot was entirely empty. What kind of sick nightmare was this?

“Sheesh, tone down the whining over there, Stark,” Clint said, rolling his eyes before he shot a glare at Thor who seemed to be eyeing his bowl of cereal. “Don’t get any ideas, blondie. I hid the box too, somewhere you’ll never find it.”

Hulk scoffed and looked at Clint. “Cereal box is on bookshelf in living room in “R” section,” Hulk was scarfing down plain slices of bread. Right, the toaster had gotten itself smashed the other day. Hulk didn't always have the patience to wait for the bread to toast.

“What!? No, no it’s not! Why would I hide it someplace stupid like that?” Clint laughed uncomfortably, making it all the more obvious that the bookshelf /was/ where the cereal box was currently located. Thor simply grinned mischievously; it was clear he was plotting a siege of Clint’s coveted Sugar Flakes.

“Um, excuse me? Can we get back to me over here?” Tony complained loudly. “Every single morning I wake up and there’s freshly brewed coffee here. Did you guys drink it all or something? Fess up if you did, come on.”

“Tony. You, a genius of all people, should know that coffee doesn’t just brew itself. Steve brews your precious coffee every morning. He left so early with Sam this morning that he probably just forgot,” Natasha explained, clearly tired of Tony’s hysterics. Tony frowned. Steve hadn’t brewed his coffee? He had always brewed his coffee, even before they started dating.

“Whatever,” Tony grumbled, clearly cranky without his precious caffeine. “I’m perfectly capable of brewing my own coffee, I don’t need Steve to do /everything/ for me. I’m a super-genius over here, I could easily design a self-brewing coffee pot if I felt like it.” He opened the cabinet where he stored the coffee beans. But when he opened the cabinet...god, he really should have just stayed in bed.

The cabinet had been raided and destroyed, with only empty ripped bags of Tony’s very expensive coffee beans remaining. He didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what had happened. He turned to the only person in the room who was green.

“Hulk,” Tony began. “Did you eat my coffee beans?”

“Hulk hungry. The coffee cakes you buy don’t even taste like coffee. Hulk put coffee beans on cakes,” Hulk explained with his mouth full of bread.

Tony wanted to pull his hair from his head in utter frustration. “Coffee cakes aren’t supposed to taste like coffee, you have them /with/ your coffee!” He exclaimed, slamming the cabinet shut. He sighed in an attempt to calm himself down, but he knew the fastest way to relax would be if he got some caffeine in him. “I’m going to Starbucks.” 

“Bring back more of the cakes of the coffee variety,” Thor requested.

“And buy ones that taste like coffee. Hulk no get it, why no just call them cakes?” Hulk questioned.

Tony waved a dismissive hand as he started to make his way toward the elevator. The Starbucks was just around the corner, so it was hardly a far walk. But for a Tony Stark, pre-coffee and with no morning kisses from his boyfriend, it felt like it was miles away. Stupid Hulk, eating all of his coffee beans. Stupid Sam, needing to run off for his stupid training with Steve. Even when he was cranky, he never could call Steve stupid. The training and Sam, sure no problem, but never Steve.

Speaking of stupid Sam and the stupid training, just as Tony was about to push the call button for the elevator, it opened to reveal the two. They were in the middle of some conversation, which stopped the moment they noticed him. Steve smiled fondly at him, which was almost enough to stop Tony’s crankiness. Almost.

“Tony!” Steve said happily and greeted Tony with a quick chaste kiss. His first Steve kiss of the day. It was a cute kiss, but not the lingering and gentle one that he usually gave to wake him up in the morning.

Sam rolled his eyes, “Ugh, gross. You two really gotta get a room or something,” Sam said, though he paused to consider his words for a moment. “Well, you’ve already got a room. But you really need to do all that in there, not here.”

“Sorry, can’t help myself sometimes,” Steve turned his attention to Tony. “Were you going down to the lab, honey?”

“Later, yes. But I was going to go to Starbucks first,” Tony murmured.

Sam perked up at the mention of Starbucks. “Oh! Are you gonna go buy a Starbucks and rename it Starkbucks like you were talking about the other day?”

Tony winced at Sam’s words, far too cranky to appreciate the boy’s cheerfulness and jokes. Even if the joke was technically his own. “While incredibly tempting, no, not today. There was no coffee in the kitchen this morning.” He eyed Steve, and he definitely sounded bitter as if he was expecting an explanation and even an apology from him for not making coffee. It was probably selfish of him to expect an apology, and he knew that, but a part of him still hoped Steve would.

Steve did not apologize. He just kept smiling that adorable grin that made it almost impossible to be angry at him. Almost. “Oh, alright. I know how much you love your coffee. But I am glad to hear you’re not buying a Starbucks. You’ve got enough on your plate as it is without running a coffee shop, and that would just be an excuse for you to drink even /more/ coffee.”

“Seriously man, I don’t think any human should ingest as much coffee as you do. You know caffeine withdrawal has pretty negative side effects too. Headache, lethargy, irritability--” Sam began, but was quick to stop as Tony gave him a cold glare. “--but I’m no expert or anything!” 

“Well I don’t know too much about coffee or its side effects, but I do know about protein shakes. And the benefits of having one after a workout,” Steve turned his attention to Sam. “Let’s get you a protein shake, soldier. Hopefully Hulk didn’t eat all the eggs, we need at least six of them.”

“I’m gonna drink raw eggs? Ugh, gross!” Sam said, shaking his head in disgust. He started to walk toward the kitchen, seeming quite eager to get away from the caffeine-deprived Tony.

Steve pecked Tony’s cheek, again depriving him of the kiss he truly desired. “I’ll see you later,” He said, before he followed Sam to the kitchen.

Tony watched Steve go and he couldn’t help but feel disappointed and a bit frustrated. No apology for running off and not making coffee, kisses that would be more suitable for a grandparent, and no real promise of doing something together later on. He pouted and huffed like a child despite knowing that he was being absurd. Steve was allowed to forget to make coffee, hell, he didn’t even have to make coffee or give him sweet kisses to wake him up. Tony just really liked when he did.

Hopefully after a grande dark roast with a double shot of espresso, his emotions would be a bit more in check.

XXXXX

Even the double shot wasn’t enough.

While he had gotten his caffeine fix, he was definitely in desperate need of his daily dose of Steve. In all fairness, it was partially his fault for not making an effort to see Steve. He reverted right back into his typical reclusive nature, disappearing into the lab after the trip to Starbucks. It was not uncommon for Tony to slip into the lab for an entire day, even multiple days. Usually the only time he stopped and registered the time or the world outside was when he got a visitor, and his most frequent visitor was, of course, Steve.

But he didn’t come down to all day, nor did any of the other Avengers. He didn’t blame the team for not coming to bug him, especially after he’d been so aggressive and cranky at breakfast. But Steve - Steve almost always came in and checked up on him, often with lunch or snacks, and kisses too! Tony really wasn’t liking the whole ‘Steve avoiding him’ trend of the day; this definitely was not something he had subscribed to.

It was after eight by the time Tony finally decided to step out of the lab. He first took the elevator up to the main communal floor in an effort to find Steve. Upon arriving, he did not see him; just Hulk, Thor, and Clint playing video games. He could smell freshly delivered pizza too, which meant that there was probably no food left in the kitchen. They almost certainly had found his waffles. He also noticed that the bookshelf was on the floor, suggesting that Thor had definitely found the Sugar Flakes. Good thing Tony kept everything he needed stored digitally, he honestly didn’t even know what the purpose of that bookshelf was aside from a hiding place for Clint’s cereal.

Even if the idea of pizza and crushing Clint at video games was quite tempting, he was more interested in finding his boyfriend. He turned away before any of the three noticed him, and started to make his way toward his now shared bedroom with Steve. 

It wasn’t uncommon for Steve to relax in their bedroom during the evening if the others were too noisy in the living room. It was also quickly approaching his bedtime; Steve tended to go to sleep pretty early, which Tony loved to tease him about. 

Tony was pretty hopeful that he would be in there, but said hope quickly faded once he opened the door to reveal an empty room. The frown went right back onto his face, and he was quick to turn on his heel so he could search for Steve in another part of the tower. Just as he was about to leave to go and check the gym, he noticed something on his side of the bed: a note. 

Finding notes from Steve around the tower was not an uncommon occurrence. Steve easily could text him, or even have JARVIS relay messages, but he loved to leave cute handwritten notes for Tony. While quite endearing, it usually meant that he wasn’t going to be around for whatever reason. 

Tony picked up the note and unfolded it.

_Hey Tony!_

_Sorry I didn’t see much of you today, Natasha and I were getting ready for the mission tonight. Remember, no comms; we don’t want to be compromised. You can track the Quinjet if you’re really worried, but try and keep it to a minimum. You know I’ll call you first if we need the backup._

_We won’t be back until at least tomorrow morning. Make sure you actually get to sleep at a decent hour, please._

_I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow._

_\- Steve_

Right. Tony had nearly forgotten about the stealth mission. They had a lead on a new hideout for the Cabal, so Natasha had volunteered to gather more intel. Steve hadn’t liked the idea of her going alone, so he’d volunteered to join her. Natasha requested the mission be carried out by just the two of them and on her terms, which included stealth and no comms with the rest of the team, to ideally prevent the spying from being compromised.

At the time, Tony had been completely on board with the idea and fully supported it. However, on that day he had gotten his wake-up kisses, coffee, and had a lovely date with his boyfriend. He crumpled the note and tossed it to the side, collapsing onto the bed and fell face first into his pillow.

“JARVIS, why does my boyfriend hate me?” Tony said, with his face still pressed into his pillow to further enhance his sulking.

“I don’t know, sir. I’m hardly programmed to recognize animosity in your romantic relationship with Captain Rogers,” The AI responded bluntly, certainly programmed to respond with a good amount of snark.

“Well, remind me to reprogram you to recognize it so you can warn me next time,” Tony rolled over to lay on his back. He glanced again at Steve’s empty side of the bed, his gaze fixating on his pillow. He shifted closer and pressed his face into it, inhaling deeply, and taking in the familiar scent that he missed so much. It paled in comparison to the real deal, but it was enough to at least calm his dramatics down for a moment.

But was he really being dramatic? The day started with Steve avoiding him by not waking him up. Then he went and continued to avoid Tony, knowing that he was going to be away overnight. Was he trying to say something indirectly? ‘Sorry, I really can’t stand being around you and your ego, so I’m just going to be as far away from you as possible all day and all night.’

Was he trying to create distance between them so it would be easier to break it off? 

The anxiety over the thought of losing his boyfriend proved to be such an emotional strain on Tony that he did something /extremely/ uncharacteristic: he fell asleep at a decent time. Early, even. Around nine o’clock, he passed out on Steve’s pillow, one hand gripping it tightly and his face firmly pressed against the soft fabric. 

Before falling asleep, he had one fleeting desire that was highly un-Tony Stark-like. For once, he hoped that he was wrong. He hoped Steve wasn't going to leave him.

XXXXX

Steve came home the following night. But he did not kiss Tony, or make him coffee, and all was not right in the world.

“Hey, gorgeous, how was the mission?” Tony asked enthusiastically, walking into the bedroom where Steve was in the middle of taking off his uniform.

Steve did not seem to be in very good spirits, and Tony recognized his bad mood immediately. He had the whole ‘we-failed-and-it’s-all-because-of-me’ vibe going on that happened when missions did not go well.

Steve kept his gaze down and sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off his boots. “I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Well, you’re going to have to talk about it eventually. The team has a right to know how the mission went,” Tony said, bending down to pick up Steve’s boots to put them aside.

“It’s late, we’ll have a team briefing about it tomorrow, and you can hear all about it then.” Steve’s tone was somewhat aggressive, and Tony couldn’t tell if it was aggression directed toward him, or just general frustration about the mission not being successful.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Tony agreed quietly. He watched his boyfriend storm into the bathroom, the door shutting loudly behind him. 

Tony only knew that Steve was back from the mission because he had told JARVIS to notify him. He hadn’t received a single text message or update about his arrival. Sure, the mission had been no comms, but if it had (apparently) been a failure, then would it really have mattered if Steve had texted Tony with an ETA during the return flight? Unless, of course, he hadn’t wanted him to know when he was coming back. Another perfect way for Steve to create more distance between them.

Steve came out of the bathroom sooner than Tony had anticipated and beelined right for the bed, throwing back the covers quickly and climbing right in. Was Steve going to sleep? Without even saying goodnight? Sure, half the time he went to bed on his own because Tony was doing something in the lab, but Tony was standing right in front of him, and they’d hardly had any contact for the past thirty-four hours. 

“No goodnight kiss?” Tony sat down on the bed next to Steve, his hand reaching out to rub along his shoulder.

“I’m tired. I haven’t slept since yesterday morning,” Steve explained gruffly. Tony was at least relieved that he didn’t shy away from his touch, which gave him the slightest bit of confidence to push on. He laid down himself, and pressed against Steve’s back to spoon him. He didn’t shy away from that either, but he also didn’t press back into Tony; he simply remained still and stiff. 

“You know what we haven’t done since even /before/ yesterday morning…” Tony mumbled, as he began to kiss at Steve’s neck. He knew it was ridiculous to ask for sex when Steve was so clearly tired, and it actually wasn’t even sex he was seeking. Tony honestly just wanted to see his reaction; he hoped it would be a loving, ‘Oh not tonight, darling, I’m exhausted. But you can just hold me in those strong arms of yours all night. I’ve missed you.’

“Tony.” That was Steve’s warning tone, the one that he usually only used when Tony was going to do something stupid and/or reckless, typically out in the field. “I’m trying to sleep. Please stop that.”

“I understand that you’re tired, that’s alright. I’m just kissing you…” He continued kissing his neck a bit more, only for Steve to pull away entirely.

“Not now! Just let me sleep, alright?” And with that, Tony couldn’t help but lose his patience.

He quickly climbed out the bed and glared at Steve. “Look, if you want me to leave, then how about you speak up and say it!?”

Steve frowned and looked over his shoulder. “I didn’t say you had to leave. I just don’t want you kissing me right now is all. You know I’m a light sleeper-” He was cut off by a long yawn “-and besides, it’s so early for you. I thought you’d be in the lab for at least another few hours.”

“Oh, you want me in the lab? So you can continue to ignore me and avoid me!?” Tony scoffed, rolling his eyes. Steve’s drowsiness suddenly seemed to fade away, and he shot right up and looked at Tony with a concerned expression. It was actually quite similar to his famous ‘Tony-is-in-danger-and-needs-me’ expression, another battlefield classic, but Tony was too heated to fully register it.

“Ignore you and avoid you? Honey, what are you talking about? I haven’t been doing any of that,” Steve stated, his tone seeming genuinely confused.

“You ignored me all day yesterday! You didn’t wake me up in the morning and you didn’t make me coffee like you always do! Then I didn’t see you for the entire day, when you knew you were going to be away overnight. And /then/ when you finally come back, you don’t want anything to do with me! I just...” Tony sighed, running a hand through his dark hair in frustration. “...Steve, do you like me?”

“Tony, I’ve been dating you for three months and you’ve been my best friend for years, of course I like you.” 

“Yeah...but do you like me?” Tony asked, only for Steve to respond by staring at him with a puzzled expression. He assumed he should explain further, that did sound pretty ridiculous. “What I mean is are... you avoiding me because you want to break up with me? Because you don’t like me anymore?”

“Tony.” That was the same stern warning tone again. It was inevitable now, and Tony mentally prepared himself to hear what he feared the most. “Come here.”

Tony hesitated, half debating running out of the room to delay the oncoming breakup, but he forced himself to listen to Steve’s request. He hesitantly moved closer. He braced himself to hear it, to hear Steve break up with him in the nicest way possible, because he was the nicest and most amazing man in the galaxy. He shut his eyes, not wanting to be looking at his perfect face as he spoke such horrible words.

The words he feared never came. Instead, two strong arms wrapped around him and brought him back into the bed. Steve pressed Tony against him, and Tony clung to him tightly. 

“You have far too active of an imagination.” Steve pulled back and Tony looked up at him. His hand reached up to cup side of his face and he looked at him with a soft loving expression, the one that Tony had missed so desperately during the longest thirty-four hours of his life. Well, second longest hours of his life, because captivity and torture in a cave were pretty damn bad too.

“I’m a drama queen, you know this,” Tony joked, in an effort to lighten up the mood and to downplay just how ridiculous he had been mere seconds prior.

“First of all,” Steve began. “I /did/ make you coffee yesterday morning. I guarantee you someone just drank it and won’t fess up to it because of what a beast you are when it comes to your coffee.” Fair point, Tony was awful without coffee, but someone stealing his coffee, that was definitely going to bring out one hell of a beast. He'd probably rival an angry Hulk.

Natasha /had/ seemed quite quick to tell him that Steve had forgotten to make the coffee, but he’d let her get away with it. He was smart enough to know better than to make accusations about coffee against a deadly spy.

“Yeah, nothing is sacred in that kitchen,” Tony agreed, relieved to hear that Steve had, at least, made him coffee.

“Second,” Steve continued, “I had every intention of being back by nine to wake you up. But Sam... he’s a great kid and super smart. The wings and his reliance on them mean he’s not on the ground running as much anymore. He’s definitely gotten slower.” Steve poked Tony lightly at his side. “Even then, he still wasn’t as slow as you were during our week of basic training.”

Tony huffed stubbornly. He was quite fit and did work out, but speed had never been his strong suit. “Hey listen, I can fly, so who cares how fast I can run a mile?”

“Sam said the same thing. But hey, now you’re more prepared in case you do lose your armor. Now it will only take you seven minutes and twelve seconds to run from an enemy, versus eleven minutes and thirty-one seconds. You’re welcome,” Steve said proudly. “Anyway, because Sam insisted on joining me for my morning workout, I had to run at his pace, and it almost became an afternoon workout as well. By the time we were done, I ran into you at the elevator and you were already awake.”

“Alright...but you still left without saying goodbye?” Tony questioned, still needing every last explanation for Steve’s actions.

“You know how Natasha is, she’s the expert on stealth missions and hardly trusts any of us to go with her. So she spent all day briefing and training me. I barely had time to write the note for you without her threatening to leave me behind,” Steve explained. “You /knew/ about this overnight mission, we told you several times.”

“Steve, with how much my mind is doing on the daily, it’s a wonder I remember to eat breakfast. You usually do that remembering for me,” Tony admitted honestly. He’d probably go days without eating or sleeping if not for Steve. “And I block out all information about you leaving me, even if it is just for one night.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you the sweetest?” He said in a way that suggested both sarcasm and sincerity. “And as for the no kissing thing... I’m just really exhausted. The way you are without your coffee is how I am without my sleep, you know this.” It was true, he rarely knew Steve not to get a full eight hours of sleep.

Tony nodded and gave Steve a quick peck on the lips. “Well, all that beauty rest at least pays off, handsome,” 

Steve kissed Tony back. “Regardless,” He began. “If there is one thing I want, it’s that I never want you to feel unwanted and unappreciated. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You were my first friend when I came out of the ice. You gave me a home, you gave me so much happiness...I don’t like you - I love you.”

Tony relaxed immediately at the affirmation of Steve loving him. And here he was worrying that his boyfriend still /liked/ him. “I love you too, and I’m sorry I doubted how much you care. But you know me, if I don’t have your attention, I practically die.”

Steve chuckled, a yawn following immediately after. “Whatever you say, Tinker Bell.” Tony rolled his eyes at Steve’s attempt at a witty pop-culture reference. “Alright sweetie, now that you know I don’t want to break up with you and I’m not avoiding you, can I go to sleep? I need my eight hours, and it’s almost ten.”

“Right, I forgot it’s a law that you have to be up before the sun,” Tony said, a balance of fondness and gentle teasing apparent in his voice.

“I’d rather be up with the sun versus going to bed with it,” Steve jabbed at Tony. “Speaking of, are you going to stay up here or go down to the lab? Because I mean it when I say no kissing. I’ll sleep on the couch if you keep me awake.”

Tony frowned at the idea of Steve sleeping on the couch and shook his head, “If cuddling is permitted, then I’ll stay. Might as well get that eight hours too.”

Steve smirked. “Tony Stark getting eight hours of sleep? How sexy, what a turn-on.”

Tony beamed a little at any (well-deserved) association between himself and sexiness, but at the same time, the last thing he needed to be thinking of right now was turning Steve on. “You know me, soon I’ll start putting my plates in the dishwasher and eating balanced meals. Ultimate sex appeal,”

Steve did let curious hands give Tony’s bum a quick squeeze. “You’ll have to help me explore those turn-ons tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself around a Tony who’s slept for eight hours,” He said fondly. His hands retreated back to Tony’s waist before any further sexual implications could happen. “But we’ll look into that in the morning. For now, sleep. Night, babe...” 

Tony fell silent at Steve’s request, aware of how much his lover wanted and needed to sleep. But he did have one fleeting wish that he could not ignore. He looked up at his resting face. “Hey Steve?” 

“Mmm?” Steve asked, his eyes remaining shut.

“I know you said no kissing, but can we have just one goodnight kiss? Probably good for the brain waves and the dream process,” Tony tried to half-ass reason, but really he just wanted a proper kiss from Steve.

Steve opened his eyes and smiled at him. “Well, who am I to argue with such rational logic from a genius?” 

He leaned in and kissed Tony deeply. It was a sweet and passionate kiss, easily the best kiss the two had shared in weeks, and the kiss that he had desperately been craving since the previous morning. It was also the reassurance that Tony so desperately craved, because as sweet as Steve’s words were, the physical way that he showed affection was what he needed as well. The perfect balance between the two sides of his boyfriend’s love.

“I love you too, Steve. Sorry I doubted that even for a second....” Tony watched Steve’s eyes shut once again, but he still spoke once more before falling asleep.

Steve said the words that he had craved for the past thirty-four hours, the words that he had feared he would never hear again, the words that forever eased his anxiety and calmed his dramatics.

“I love you, Tony.”

Tony couldn’t think of a more perfect sentence spoken by a more perfect man.


End file.
